Indian English

Indian English comprises several dialects or varieties of English spoken primarily in India, and by first-generation members of the Indian diaspora. This dialect evolved during and after the British colonial rule of India. English is the co-official language of India, with about 90 million speakers, but with fewer than quarter of a million calling it a first language.

In nineteenth-century India, Britain first faced the possibility of having to teach English to a body of people who were important to Britain. There were a number of English medium schools in India (Nurullah and Naik, 1951) mostly under the control of missionaries and many primarily targeted at European and Eurasian children and orphans. The products of these schools provide the first generation of teachers.